𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 | 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟑 | 𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓

y/ns pov

I left Austin and Zion downstairs, wrapped up in cushiony blankets. They were watching their 4th movie, I couldn't keep up. My body needed rest, limbs aching from constant movement.

I could hear Mom and Ginny whispering next door, but I wasn't bothered join them. I was exhausted, having school back to back was already a struggle, my still broken arm making everything 10x worse. School became even longer, the day's dragged.

Waking up was refreshing, the warm rays tanning my face. My room had a glow to it, the yellow streaks bouncing off of my walls. Laughter flowed through the house, Austin's giggles the loudest. The smell of sweet pancakes and bacon creeped under my door, my stomach rumbling with desire. I had binged on candy, forgetting to eat dinner, so I was in need of real food.

At the table, Austin was putting his plate in the sink, Ginny and Zion were discussing her essay entry.

"My whole life changed when I moved to this progressive utopia, where creativity and compassion thrive. Wellsbury is where I most belong." Ginny looked at Zion, awaiting his thoughts.

"Well, it's... definitely well written." He tried.

"What? What's wrong with it?"

"It sounds fake," I snickered, "It's like you know you're lying. Yes, you may like it here, but, you know your true self wouldn't "thrive" here."

"Is Wellsbury where you feel you most belong?" Zion added.

"It's an essay, and winning this contest could help me get into the right college." "Oh, there's a right college!"

"Well, yeah! I mean, no offence. I know you took a bunch of different courses at a bunch of different places, but that's not really how things are done here."

"No offence taken."

"How would you guys make it better?"

"I'd scrap the whole thing. You're not going to win by complimenting this town, that's not what the essay is asking for." I sighed. "You can think it over at school, or ask Hunter to guide you."

She nodded, leaving to collect her bag. With one last hug from Zion, we departed on our walk to school, one that I was particularly tired of.

Ginny hadn't stopped typing since we sat down at Berry Tree. Abby and I tried to start a conversation with her, but her eyes were stuck on her screen.

"This rationale exemplifies... Too stiff."

Max and Sophie were together every second of the day, Sophie even leaving her friends to stay with Max at Berry tree. I knew Abby was on her final straw, tired of being left out.

"Howdy, strangers. You guys still up for hangout time at Blue Farm later tonight?"

"I can't, sorry." Ginny replied.

"Yeah, I'm so not off-book, and I'm behind in, like, every subject." Max mildly panicked.

"Oh, okay. How about you, Norah?" No reply, I hadn't seen Norah since Ginny's birthday, which was three days ago.

"Oh, yeah, that's right. Norah's not actually here. What have we become?" Ginny and Max ignored Abby, turning back to whatever they were doing.

"¿Qué pasa, kielbasa?" "Mm. Nada, nada, limonada." Hunter walked up to us.

I immediately put my headphones on, hearing their flirting was the last thing I wanted to hear, especially in the morning. I played the playlist Marcus and I made, our favourite songs mixed. He got the idea when we were smoking together and arguing about which song was better. Our music type wasn't that different, many artists crossing between songs.